Such a storage device is laid out in the dashboard so as to make the storage space accessible through the frontage of the dashboard, while the bottom of the storage device extends facing structural elements of the vehicle concealed by the dashboard, such as a portion of the heating, ventilation and air conditioning unit or else the fire wall which separates the inner passenger compartment of the vehicle and the engine compartment. In the case of a glove box, the storage device is for example positioned facing the knees of the front passenger of the motor vehicle.
In the case of a front impact against the motor vehicle, these structural elements may move towards the rear of the motor vehicle, i.e. towards the passenger compartment. This displacement causes intrusion of the frontage of the storage device into the passenger compartment of the motor vehicle, under the effect of the thrust from the structural elements positioned facing the bottom of the device, this intrusion may cause injuries to the front passenger of the vehicle by hitting his/her knees.
The space extending between the bottom of the storage device and the structural elements is insufficient for providing means for absorbing the energy due to the impact allowing limitation of the risks of injuries to the passenger of the motor vehicle. This space between the bottom of the device and the structural elements is all the more small since it is always sought to enlarge the available storage space.
Therefore, provision was made for the storage device itself to be capable of absorbing the energy due to the impact or for it to be laid out in order to limit its intrusion into the passenger compartment in the case of an impact. For this purpose, the storage device is for example laid out so as to deform by being crushed in the case of an impact causing a force to be applied on the bottom of the device by the structural elements extending facing this bottom. Document FR-2 924 078 for example describes such a deformable storage device. Crushing of the storage device has the effect of absorbing energy and of limiting the displacement of the storage device towards the passenger compartment.
However, the making of such a deformable storage device in the case of an impact is complex and costly. Further, deformation of the device may not be sufficient for ensuring satisfactory energy absorption and optimally limiting the risks of injuries to the occupant of the vehicle. Finally, it happens that the deformation is not immediate and not sufficiently rapid in the case of a violent impact, the storage device forming in this case a hard point at the moment of the impact with the occupant, before being subsequently deformed by absorbing the energy.